Simplify the following expression: $k = \dfrac{p^2 + 3p - 4}{p + 4} $
Answer: First factor the polynomial in the numerator. $ p^2 + 3p - 4 = (p + 4)(p - 1) $ So we can rewrite the expression as: $k = \dfrac{(p + 4)(p - 1)}{p + 4} $ We can divide the numerator and denominator by $(p + 4)$ on condition that $p \neq -4$ Therefore $k = p - 1; p \neq -4$